In 2005,Kennedy defeated Democratic primary opponent Paul Sullivan by a vote of 65% to 35%.[8] He won 72% of the vote in the general election against his Republican opponent,Julieanne Mazurkiewicz.[9]
In 2007,Kennedy ran unopposed for a second full term to the Erie County Legislature.[10]
New York State Senate
Elections
2010
In 2010,Kennedy challenged incumbent William Stachowski for the Democratic nomination for the 58th district in the New York State Senate.[11] Kennedy also earned the endorsement of the Conservative Party,[12] which had previously supported Stachowski.[13] Stachowski was one of eight Democratic state senators who had voted against a bill allowing same-sex marriage in New York,while Kennedy supported it,earning him the backing of gay rights organizations in the primary.[14][15] Kennedy ultimately defeated Stachowski by a margin of 63% to 26%.[16] amid a wave of anti-incumbent voter sentiment.[12] Stachowski remained on the ballot on the Independence Party and Working Families Party lines.[17]
In the 2010 general election,Kennedy defeated Republican Assemblyman Jack Quinn III,[18] gaining 47% of the vote to Quinn's 45%. The remaining votes went to Stachowski.[19]
2012
Seeking reelection in 2012,Kennedy won a primary challenge from Democrat Betty Jean Grant,prevailing by 156 votes.[20] The closeness of the election prompted a protracted court battle heard by Justice Joseph R. Glownia of the State Supreme Court.[21] Kennedy ran uncontested in the November 2012 general election and was re-elected.[22]
2014
In 2014,Kennedy defeated Grant in a Democratic primary rematch,receiving 16,660 votes (60.2%) to Grant's 10,997 votes (39.8%).[23] The race received much attention,with campaign spending by the candidates and outside groups surpassing $1 million.[24] Kennedy received the backing of the New York State United Teachers and realtors,while Grant received the Erie County Democratic Committee endorsement[25] and help from the Independent Democratic Conference,a breakaway group of state Senate Democrats who sided with Republicans in the Senate.[24] Kennedy's base of support was South Buffalo,Lackawanna,and Cheektowaga,while Grant's base of support was Buffalo's East Side.[26]
In the November 2014 general election,Kennedy (who ran on the Democratic,Working Families,and Independence ballot lines) defeated Ricky T. Donovan,Sr. (who ran on the Republican and Conservative ballot lines). Out of 59,094 total votes,Kennedy received 42,278 (71.5%),while Donovan received 11,973 (20.3%).[27]
2016
In the 2016 general election,Kennedy ran unopposed on the Democratic,Working Families,Independence,and Women's Equality ballot lines and received 89,650 votes.[28]
2018
In 2018,Kennedy defeated Shaqurah Zachery in a Democratic primary,winning 23,640 (76.6%) of the vote.[29] He ran unopposed in the general election.[30]
Tenure
Kennedy speaking on a resolution to remember the victims of the 2022 Buffalo shooting on May 10,2023
2011–2018
In 2011,Kennedy voted in favor of the Marriage Equality Act,which legalized same-sex marriage in New York.[31][32] Kennedy lost the support of the Conservative Party in 2012 following his vote on the marriage issue.[33]
Also in 2011,Kennedy authored Jay-J's Law,which sought to stiffen penalties for repeat child abusers by increasing the look back period in which someone can be charged with aggravated assault. The bill was named after Jay-J Bolvin,a young boy who suffered 11 fractured bones,a severe seizure disorder and developmental delays as a result of a severe beating from his father,who had previously been convicted of assaulting one of his other sons. The bill was passed by the legislature and later signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo in July 2013.[34]
In 2012,Kennedy introduced a package of four bills to combat the opioid epidemic in New York. One of the bills would create a prescription-monitoring system for physicians and pharmacists to track the prescription of narcotic painkillers. This proposal was made by New York State Attorney GeneralEric Schneiderman.[35]
Kennedy ran for State Senate in 2010 as a pro-life candidate.[36] In 2013,Kennedy cast a procedural vote for the tenth point of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Women's Equality Act,which would have expanded abortion rights in New York. In February 2014,Kennedy acknowledged that his position on abortion had "evolved" and that he supported the tenth point of the Women's Equality Act;he added,"'I believe at the end of the day that a woman has to be able to make a decision upon her health,her life and her family that is in her best interests and their best interests'". Pro-choice groups praised his shift on the issue,[33] while Bishop Richard Malone of the Buffalo diocese of the Roman Catholic Church criticized him for it.[37] In 2019,Kennedy voted in favor of the Reproductive Health Act,[38] which was described by The Buffalo News as "the most sweeping set of protections to the state’s abortion laws in 49 years".[39]
In 2013,Kennedy co-sponsored legislation to increase the state minimum wage to $9 an hour,and automatically adjust the minimum wage to account for cost-of-living increases.[40]
In May 2013,Kennedy introduced a Jackie's Law into the Senate,which was prompted by the death of West Seneca woman Jackie Wisniewski,who was killed after being stalked by a former boyfriend using a GPS tracking device on her car. Kennedy's bill updated New York's stalking statutes by allowing police to pursue criminal charges against those who use electronic tracking devices to stalk victims. Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes sponsored companion legislation in the Assembly. Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law in July 2014.[41]
In 2014,Kennedy introduced legislation that would limit the state's legal immunity for claims for damages. The legislation would specifically amend Section 58 of the State Highway Law,which immunizes the state from "liability for damages arising from defects in its highways" during cold-weather months. The bill proposed by Kennedy "would allow motorists to seek damages from the state for 'egregious or unreasonable' defects year-round or when it was given prior notice of a defect."[42] State Assemblyman Thomas J. Abinanti filed companion legislation in the State Assembly.[42]
Kennedy has been a supporter of the legalization of mixed martial arts (MMA) in New York,which at the time was the only U.S. state to bar MMA events.[43] Kennedy argued that MMA could economically benefit Western New York,with events at First Niagara Center in Buffalo benefiting local businesses.[44] The legal status of MMA had been a state political issue for years;the state Senate passed legalization legislation seven times over six years,but the bills were not taken up by the State Assembly. Kennedy expressed disappointment at the failure to pass the legislation in 2015,[43] and welcomed passage of MMA legislation in 2016.[44]
In 2017,Kennedy supported legalizing vehicle for hire companies in all areas of New York State.[45]
2019−2024
Kennedy speaking at the launch of voluntary COVID-19 screening program for MTA employees on October 27,2020
When the Democratic Party won the majority in the State Senate in 2018,Kennedy was appointed chair of the New York State Senate Transportation,Infrastructure,and Capital Investment Committee.[46] He also served on the Finance,Rules,Energy &Telecommunications,Insurance,Banks,and Social Services Committees.[5]
In 2019,Kennedy convened a Transportation Committee hearing about Limousine Safety,where families of victims of the Schoharie County and Suffolk County limousine crashes testified.[48] Subsequently,the New York State Senate passed a package of bills designed to improve bus and limousine safety.[49]
Also in his first year as chairman of the Transportation Committee,Kennedy authored legislation that became law allowing school districts to install cameras on the back of school buses to catch vehicles illegally and dangerously passing stopped buses.[50]
During his tenure as Transportation Committee chair,he secured historic investments in local roads and bridges,through the CHIPS,PAVE NY and BRIDGE NY programs.[51]
In 2020,Kennedy passed legislation that became law to allow striking workers to collect unemployment insurance after two weeks,when striking workers previously had to wait seven weeks prior to filing for unemployment.[52]
In 2022,after the racist shooting at Tops grocery store in Buffalo,Kennedy supported a "landmark legislative package to immediately strengthen the state's gun laws,close critical loopholes exposed by shooters in Buffalo and Uvalde and protect New Yorkers from the scourge of gun violence that continues to infect our nation and endanger our communities."[53]
On November 14, 2023, Kennedy announced that he would run for the soon-to-be vacated congressional seat held at the time by Brian Higgins.[54] He won the election on April 30, 2024, defeating Republican nominee Gary Dickson.[55] Kennedy received 68.6% of the vote to Dickson's 31.3%.[56]
2024
Kennedy was sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives on May 6, 2024.[57]
The first bill Kennedy cosponsored was H.R. 2530, the Nurse Staffing Standards for Patient Safety and Quality Care Act. In his first floor speech, he highlighted the need for safe staffing nurse-to-patient ratios.[58]
On the second anniversary of the racist shooting at Tops grocery store in Buffalo, Kennedy honored the victims in a 30-minute special order proceeding where he was joined by Rep. Jim Clyburn.[59] He also introduced legislation with Rep. Grace Meng to ban the sale of enhanced body armor, which was used by the shooter in Buffalo.[60]
Personal life
Kennedy lives in Buffalo with his wife Katie and their three children.[6]
Andrew Mark Cuomo is an American politician, lawyer, and former government official who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and son of former governor Mario Cuomo, Cuomo previously served as the attorney general of New York from 2007 to 2010.
The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party founded in 1962 following conservative dissatisfaction with the Republican Party in New York. Running on the Conservative Party line, James L. Buckley won election to the U.S. Senate in 1970 and served for one term. Since 2010, the party has held "Row C" on New York ballots—the third-place ballot position, directly below the Democratic and Republican parties—because it received the third-highest number of votes of any political party in the 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 New York gubernatorial elections. The party is known for its strategy of attempting to influence the Republican Party in a more conservative direction.
John Francis Quinn Jr. is a retired American politician and academic administrator from the state of New York. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2005, and went on to serve as president of Erie Community College (ECC) from 2008 to 2017.
The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. The Democratic Party has held control of the New York State Senate since 2019. The Senate majority leader is Andrea Stewart-Cousins.
Byron William Brown II is an American politician who served as the 62nd mayor of Buffalo, New York from 2006 until his resignation in 2024. He was the city's first African-American mayor and longest-serving mayor of Buffalo. He previously served Western New York as a member of the New York State Senate and Buffalo Common Council. He is the first African-American politician elected to the New York State Senate to represent a district outside New York City and the first member of any minority race to represent a majority-white New York State Senate district. He announced in a September press conference that he would resign as mayor of Buffalo sometime in October. Brown's resignation took effect on October 15, 2024, with Christopher Scanlon serving as acting mayor until the next mayoral election in 2025.
Simcha Felder is an American politician from Borough Park, Brooklyn. He represents the 22nd district in the New York State Senate. A Democrat, Felder has been a member of the State Senate since 2013; he caucused with Senate Republicans from 2013 to 2018 and has caucused with Senate Democrats since 2019. Prior to his State Senate tenure, Felder represented the 44th district on the New York City Council from 2002 to 2010. He is known as a conservative Democrat.
Andrea Alice Stewart-Cousins is an American politician and educator from Yonkers, New York. A member of the Democratic Party, Stewart-Cousins has represented District 35 in the New York State Senate since 2007 and served as Majority Leader and Temporary President of that body since 2019. She has served twice as acting lieutenant governor of New York under Governor Kathy Hochul, for 16 days in 2021 and between April and May 2022. Stewart-Cousins is the first Black woman to serve as New York's lieutenant governor, although in an acting capacity. She is the first woman in New York State history to lead a conference in the New York State Legislature and the first female Senate Majority Leader in New York history.
William T. Stachowski is an American politician from New York.
Lee Michael Zeldin is an American attorney, politician, and officer in the United States Army Reserve who has been serving as the 17th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since January 29, 2025. A member of the Republican Party, he represented New York's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2023. From 2011 to 2014, Zeldin served as a member of the New York State Senate from the 3rd Senate district.
Jane Lewis Corwin is an American politician and businesswoman who currently serves a Commissioner of the International Joint Commission for United States and Canada. She previously served as a Republican Party member of the New York State Assembly from 2009 to 2016. She represented the 144th Assembly District which covers parts of Erie and Niagara counties. Corwin was also the Republican Party nominee in the special election held on May 24, 2011, to fill Western New York's 26th district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives previously held by Republican Chris Lee. She faced three other candidates in the election, losing to Democrat Kathy Hochul 47 percent to 42 percent.
The 2010 New York state elections took place on November 2, 2010. Due to the special election for US Senate, all of New York's six statewide offices were up for popular election on the same date. At the same time, all 29 members from New York of the U.S. House of Representatives, all 212 members of the New York State legislature, and many other local officials were elected.
The prevailing political ethos of the residents of upstate New York varies from that of their downstate counterparts.
David S. Carlucci is an American politician in Rockland County, New York. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the state senator for the 38th district, which includes most of Rockland County and parts of Westchester County until December 2020. Carlucci was one of the youngest senators elected to the New York State Senate in 2010 at just 29 years old.[3] Carlucci served as the chair of the Committee on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities.
John Francis "Jack" Quinn III is a former Republican New York State Assembly Member, representing Erie County.
Kathleen Hochul is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the 57th governor of New York since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she is New York's first female governor and the first governor from Upstate New York since Nathan L. Miller in 1922.
The Marriage Equality Act is a 2011 landmark New York State law that made same-sex marriage legal. The bill was introduced in the New York State Assembly by Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell and in the New York State Senate by Senator Thomas Duane. It was signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on June 24, 2011 and took effect on July 24, 2011.
The 2014 New York gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Democratic governor Andrew Cuomo sought re-election to a second term in office, though incumbent lieutenant governor Robert Duffy did not seek re-election. Cuomo and his running mate, former U.S. representative Kathy Hochul, won contested primaries, while Republican Rob Astorino, the Westchester County Executive, and his running mate were unopposed for their party's nomination. Astorino and Moss were also cross-nominated by the Conservative Party and the Stop Common Core Party.
Robert Gary Ortt II is an American military veteran, treasurer, and politician who is a member of the New York State Senate. Ortt represents the 62nd district, which covers Niagara and Orleans counties. First elected in 2014, Ortt is a Republican.
Patrick B. Burke is an American politician who serves in the New York State Assembly from the 142nd district, which represents South Buffalo, the City of Lackawanna, and the towns of West Seneca and Orchard Park. Burke is a South Buffalo native.
New York's 63rd State Senate district is one of 63 districts in the New York State Senate. It has been represented by Democrat April Baskin since 2025, succeeding Tim Kennedy. The district underwent redistricting, since Kennedy's 2010 primary defeat of incumbent William Stachowski.
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